Don't stop believing
by Moonchylde
Summary: The team go to Scotland for a case and find a new friend in their hostess
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

"We're going to Scotland?" asked Emily excitedly. "I've always wanted to go there."

"We're all going. Remeber, we're going to work," Hotch said firmly.

"That doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves. Maybe you could find a Scottish hunny," Morgan said jokingly to which Hotch just raised his eyebrow.

"Flight's tomorrow morning, see JJ for more datails. See you at the airport." This ended the meeting and they left the room.

The next afternoon they were standing outside at a bus station with one of the police officers on the case. "I apologise we haven't been able to get you rooms at a hotel."

"That's fine, as long as we've got a roof over our heads we're good," said JJ.

"You'll be staying with a friend of mine who has space enough for all of you. Oh, here she comes." A short haired brunette with jeans and a faux leather jacket and glasses.

"All right, whoever's coming with me get in and the rest can go with Mike."

When the first car was full they pulled out of the parking lot and drove away. "So, where's this Leven at?" Garcia asked from the backseat.

"Leven, with a long 'E', hen. And it's about eight miles that way," she pointed in the direction the car was going.

"Sorry, hen?"

"Oh, sorry! Hen's a pleasantry that you'll probably hear a lot here. Mostly used for women. For example: "no problem, hen" would be pretty much the same as "no problem, babe.""

"Oh, ok." Garcia smiled.

"I'm Sarah, by the way. Not sure if Mike told you or not."

"Aaron Hotchner, Jennifer Jareau, Penelope Garcia and Derek Morgan," Hotch introduced. "Thank you for letting us stay with you."

"No problem. I think Mike phoned me 'cause he knows about my American accent thing."

"American accent thing?" asked Morgan.

"I love the American accent. People around here think I'm strange, I don't take it too personally though since I'm not actually from here."

"Where are you from?" JJ asked curiously.

"Sweden. I used to live up Glasgow way, but moved here when I got a better job."

"How come you moved here?" Morgan asked.

Sarah laughed to herself. "A guy."

"You still together?" asked Garcia.

Sarah shook her head, "no. It was all fine and well for a while. But when I started making friends he got all weird on me, so I left," she shrugged. "Oh well. At least the weather's not been too bad."

They arrived at Sarah's apartment where she ushered everyone in. "To your left: my bedroom, to your right: living room slash bedroom, second door: bathroom, straight forward: bedroom and kitchen. Make yourselves at home. If there's anything you need just let me know."

"Awesome TV," Morgan commented walking into the first room.

It was late one night when Hotch heard the bathroom light and fan flick on. He knew the others had gone to bed already so he figured it had to be Sarah. A few minutes later the light was turned off. There was a gentle knock on Hotch's door, which he'd left slightly ajar, and after he'd answered Sarah's head poked in.

"Everything all right?" she asked.

"Everything's fine."

"Can't sleep?" she asked and continued when he looked up at her. "It's 2.30 in the morning and your light's not been turned off at all. I can't sleep either. I was actually thinking of taking a drive to see if that helps. You can come along if you'd like."

Hotch accepted the invitation and went with her out to the car. Just before driving away Sarah turned the cd player on and the familiar tune of Don't Fear the Reaper floated out of the speakers. He recognized some of the roads they went down but most of he'd never seen before. They didn't speak much until Sarah suddenly sang along to one of the songs where Hotch turned in his seat to look at her with surprise.

"Sorry, that came out without me meaning to," Sarah apologized.

"Don't worry about it," he said leaning back again but he could watched her as she was drumming on the steering wheel and mouthing the words. "Sing," he said. "If that relaxes you, that's what you should do."

She turned her head to look at him for a second before taking her eyes back to the road. She started to sing along quietly but she smiled when he joined in. The rest of the drive alternated between singing and talking.


	2. Chapter 2

They managed to finish up the case a few days later and broke the news to Sarah that their flight wasn't until another week but she just smiled and said they were welcome to stay.

Hotch and Sarah went on another drive like the one they'd shared a few nights earlier but when they came back they saw Rossi had stolen Hotch's bed. Sarah took a gentle grip on his wrist and pulled him into her bedroom and there they continued their conversation from the car.

"Has anyone seen Hotch?" Garcia asked the others the next morning. JJ, seeing as Garcia was busy getting her butt whooped in monopoly, volounteered to check with their hostess. She gently knocked on Sarah's door and opened it slightly only to notice Hotch laying on the bedside closest to the door. Not being to help herself she opened the door further and saw that the two of them were sleeping fully clothed and smiled. Wiping her smile she closed the door and went back to the kitchen.

"Did you find him?" Morgan asked.

"He left a note," she said. "He's out for a morning run." Her teammates and friends nodded and went back to what their monopoly game.

An hour or so later Sarah's door started to open and JJ stopped whoever was coming out by pushing them back and going in herself. It turned out to be Hotch. "You better get changed, and somehow get your hair wet."

"Excuse me, what?" he didn't quite seem like he was awake yet.

"Hotch, it's ten thirty in the morning. People were starting to wonder where you were."

"That doesn't explain why I have to change."

"It does when I found you two innocently sleeping on the bed and I told them you'd went out on a run. You know what they're like, any hint of anything and they get more curious than George."

Hotch smiled, which surprised her as it was quite rare. "Thanks JJ. I'll take care of it."

"Ok, give me that book will you?" Hotch reached over and grabbed the book she'd pointed at and then she left.

Hotch turned around and shook Sarah's shoulder saying her name waking her up. He told her the time while handing her her glasses. He then proceeded to leave the room, open the front door and close it as if he'd just arrived from 'his morning run'. He then went into the bathroom to take a shower.

"What's going on?" he heard Reid ask.

"I'm gonna be late for work! See you when I get back!" Sarah rushed out the the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Sarah came home late afternoon. She was muttering to herself and tossed her purse angrily into the wall. "What's up?" Morgan asked who stood closest to her.

"Back-stabbing, foul mouthed, lying..." she was so angry she struggled for words. "I didn't even do anything wrong and yet I get in trouble for it. It was neither my assignment nor responsibility," she was speaking to herself more than to him by this point. "I've had enough!" she went into her bedroom closing the door.

"I could feel that anger from here," Garcia spoke up.

"Yeah, me too." JJ agreed.

Morgan walked to the bedroom door and was just about to knock on it when he heard sobs coming from the other side.

Garcia went over to him and with a soft knock she walked into the room. When she came out again a few minutes later. "She got in trouble at work for something she hadn't done and it was just one too many times I think," she told them and sat down. "She'll be ok. She's calmed down now and getting ready for us going out."

Sarah stepped out from her room a couple of moments later now having a black dress and heels on. "Sorry about that," she apologised. "You guys ready to go?"

"You're ready to go out?" Reid asked with a surprised tone in his voice. "Don't women usually take two hours to get ready?" He was answered by several pillows being chucked at him.

Arriving at the restaurant they were quickly seated at a table and given menus. They started studying it and when the waiter came back they went round robin with ordering. There was a good mix of different dishes. Sarah turned to the waiter when it was her turn, "Could I have the sirloin, well done, with mash instead of chips, no mushrooms in the side salad and could I have some appletiser instead of wine, please?" The waited nodded and turned to Hotch who was sitting next to her.

"I'll have the same, thanks."

"You're not the designated driver, honey, have some wine," Garcia smiled.

"I'm sorry guys, not to be disrespectful but I can't drink, I've got an allergy that prevents me from drinking alcohol."

"Actually, allergies to alcohol is quite rare," Reid spoke up, "it's only been described in a few dozen reports. It's difficult to diagnose since the body constantly produces small amounts of alcohol itself and alcohol test are usually negative but sometimes the alcohol could just be a co-factor to cause anaphylaxis." The table went quiet. "Just saying..."

"Sometimes, pretty boy, you need to know when to shut up," Morgan said.

"It's ok. People aren't usually that specific, but I'm not surprised. As you said, it's not common and a lot of people think that if you say you're allergic it just means you're a lightweight."

"How did you find out?" asked JJ.

"Had a drink when I was 18 and I didn't get to finish it," she shrugged. "I'm not to bothered to be honest."

"Shouldn't you wear one of those Medic Alert bracelets?" Emily asked.

"I asked my doctor about that, but he said as long as I stay away from alcohol it won't be a problem. I think he's a complete idiot for saying that but there's not much I can do."

The food arrive shortly after and the dinner conversation changed to something lighter.

"Popcorn anyone?" Emily asked in general when they arrived at the cinema later that night. Hotch and Rossi ended up going to get the tickets while the rest of them went to get popcorn and drinks.

The film was full of scary and bloody bits where Morgan had fun teasing Garcia about jumping. Sarah jumped and looked away quickly during one of the scenes where one of the characters inserted a syringe into the corner of their eye. Hotch noticing this leaned over slightly, "you ok?"

"Yeah, fine," she replied still looking away from the screen with her eyes closed.

"Needles?" he asked and she just nodded. "I'll tell you when it's over."


	3. Chapter 3

Months went by. Times were difficult in the sense of the workload the team was experiencing, which also made relationships strain and some break. It was tough for all of them. Emily had arranged a get together one night and when they arrived to Emily's apartment they saw someone sitting on the couch.

"Got a room mate we don't know about Prentiss?" Morgan asked with a smile but his jaw, like quite a few others did, dropped in surprise when the person in question turned around.

"Just what in particular are you insinuating, Morgan?" Sarah put her laptop beside her on the couch before getting up. Garcia squeeled and rushed up to give her a hug.

"What are you doing here?" JJ asked with a smile before hugging Sarah as well.

"Remember how I told you I wanted to move over here? Emily and I were talking and she offered to help me find a place to stay so the planning started there really. I would've come sooner but the green card and visa applications took longer than I thought it would."

"Drinks to celebrate!" Emily announced starting to pour wine into glasses. When she finished handing all the glasses out, giving Sarah one with coke, she said "Welcome to America!" which they laughed at and drank to.

The group were split up into women and men later that night. The women sitting on the couch and chairs while the men were standing by an open window chatting. Garcia had grabbed Sarah's laptop and gone through her music library and started a song to which JJ raised her eyebrow.

"What? Evanescence have some good songs!"

"But it's Evanescence."

Sarah spoke up, "Don't knock Evanescence."

"Thank you!" Garcia grinned and started to sing along and sang louder and more off key when she noticed JJ wincing. "Ooh! What's this?" Garcia suddenly said discovering something in the playlist. "Why's my name on here?" she asked looking up at Sarah. "Why is everyone's names here?"

"They're songs that remind me of you guys."

"Oh. Ok!" She smiled, "Let's see which Morgan's one is." Sarah covered her face as if embarrassed and sure enough when she looked up her face was flushed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the track started, "this is Mambo number five." Garcia burst out laughing along with most of the team. Derek looked like wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to say.

"That is so true!" Emily exclaimed.

"Oh, let's see what you found for Rossi," grinned JJ having looked over Garcia's shoulder. Garcia changed the track and when it started Rossi stared at Sarah recognising the song.

"Thanks Sarah," he said. He would've sounded like he was offended if it wasn't for him smiling. Garcia cut off Video Killed the Radio Star to move on to her own one.

"That's the Buffy soundtrack. Awesome! Thanks," she smiled. "Hotch, here's your one." Don't Fear the Reaper played.

Hotch's gaze went to Sarah who just smiled slightly and shrugged, he nodded remembering that it was the first song that had played the first night drive they'd gone on together.

Hotch got to see Sarah and JJ outside of work on his son's birthday. They had arranged it to be in the park so that the kids could run around and play. They had a table for food and one for the birthday boy's presents that had been filled.

"Hey, thanks for coming," Hotch said seeing Sarah arriving.

"Thanks for inviting me."

"Jack?" Hotch called and a faired haired boy came running up to them.

"Yes daddy?"

"Hi there little man," Sarah smiled.

"Hi," Jack smiled. "Is that for me?" he asked bluntly seeing the present.

Sarah glanced at Hotch and saw he was about to say something when she spoke. "Well, it's for the birthday boy. Do you happen to know who's birthday it is today?"

"It's mine!"

"Well then, I guess it's for you," she smiled and handed it over.

"Thank you," Jack smiled.

"Why don't you put it over by the other presents, buddy?" Hotch suggested.

"Ok daddy," Jack nodded.

Hotch and Sarah watched him as he went and put the present on the table almost pushing something off on the other end. "What did you get him?" Hotch asked.

"Aren't you curious!" Sarah said smiling. "It's a cd player," she turned to see Hotch had raised his eyebrows. "I hadn't planned on it. You mentioned that he was into his action heroes and everything so I made up a cd with the intro music to loads of different kids shows, older and the new ones. Then I figured he'd probably want to listen to it when he opened it so... well, the cd's in the player and it's got batteries and everything in it. Oh, and that reminds me, here's the receipt incase it breaks. It's got a warranty on it so you could just change it if it does."

"That's very generous of you."

Sarah waved at the comment. "It's nothing. Besides, you gave me a chance to spoil your son, so I did." Hotch smiled.

The afternoon turned into evening and the guests had started to leave. Jack, having opened his presents by now, had taken the cd player and played 'what cartoon is this' with his friends. Soon, the friends that were still there had to leave as well. Hotch was about to tell him that it was time for them to leave when he saw his boy walk up to Sarah, ask her something and then climb onto her lap.

Jack pressed the play button on the cd player. "You like this song?" Hotch heard Sarah ask. "Would you sing it with me?"

"Ok," Jack said but his voice told Hotch that he wasn't happy, that there was something going on.

"Watch all the flowers dance with the wind. Listen to snowflakes whisper your name. Feel all the wonder lifting your dreams. You can fly." Instead of aproaching them Hotch stood back watching and listening to them as they sung together. "Fly to who you are. Climb upon your star. You believe you'll find your wings. Fly to your heart." Jack fell silent and just listened. "Touch every rainbow painting the sky. Look at the magic glide through your life," Sarah poked his nose gently with a smile and Jack smiled shyly. "A sprinkle of pixie dust circles the night. You can fly. Fly to who you are. Climb upon your star. You believe you'll find your wings. Fly everywhere you go. Your soul will find a home. You'll be free to spread your wings. Fly, you can fly to your heart." They were rocking back and forth. "Rise to the heights of all you can be. Soar of the hope of marvelous things. "Jack was looking at Sarah with an intensity that was almost like he was deciding something important to him. "Fly to you you are. Climb upon your star. You believe you'll find your wings. Fly everywhere you go. Your soul will find a home. You'll be free to spread your wings," Jack wrapped his arms around Sarah, she could feel him crying silently, but finished the song before she said anything to give him a little time.

"You sing pretty, Sarah," he whispered. "Just like mom used to." Sarah held him tightly and he cried more openly. "I miss mommy," he said.

"Of course you do, honey, and I am so sorry."

"Why?" Jack asked looking at her with his tear stained face. "You didn't kill her."

"No," Sarah said, "but I know what it's like to grow up without a mom. I just wish you didn't have to go through the same."

"I almost had a new mom," Jack confessed. "But it's my fault she left."

"Why would it be your fault?"

"Because I told dad I liked Beth and all, but not like that."

"Oh, honey. I'm sure that's not the reason why she left."

"But I heard daddy crying. I didn't let him know, but I did."

"Well, your daddy was probably very sad that Beth left, but you have to remember that Beth leaving was her decision. I'm sure she loved you very much but sometimes things just doesn't work out."

Jack nodded and hugged her again. Sarah hugged him back. "I like you Sarah," he said. "Don't leave."

"I'm not leaving, hun. I'm right here." Jack fell silent and they stayed embraced for several minutes before Hotch finally walked up to them. "Jack, your daddy's here. You want to go to him for a bit?"

"No!" He tightened his arms the best he could around Sarah. The outburst had made both adults look at each other with surprised looks.

"He looks like he really needs hug though. Besides, don't you agree that 'daddy hugs' are the best in the world?" Jack nodded at this. "Then don't you want to give him one?"

"I don't want to let go," Jack said.

"You know what? Jack, look at me. I'll make you a promise right now, that if you ever want a hug from me when we see each other you'll get it, ok?" Jack nodded after some consideration. "Want to let your daddy hug you now?" Jack nodded again, turned around and let Hotch pick him up.

"Thank you," he said and she just shook her head as if it was nothing. Sarah got the last few things and put them in the car for him while he strapped Jack in in the back seat. She then got into the passenger seat and went with them to their apartment. Sarah unloaded the car while Hotch went to put his son to bed and when she just as she finished he came out of Jack's room.

"How is he?" she asked concerned.

"He'll be ok. Do you know what that was about?" he asked inviting her to sit on the sofa.

"He misses his mom and thinks he's responsible for Beth leaving."

"Why didn't I see this earlier?" he asked himself in a mutter.

"Sometimes being so close to someone it let's you look past some things that you normally wouldn't," Sarah said. "Maybe he just needed to talk to a woman. He strikes me as the kind of boy that wants to be strong for his daddy and not show it if there's something wrong. He get's that from his daddy," she smiled when he looked at her.

"You won't have to keep that promise you gave him-"

"Of course I do!" Sarah said firmly interrupting him. "I don't take my promises lightly, Aaron, I thought you knew that by now."

Hotch nodded with a look on his face that Sarah couldn't decipher. "How come you call me his 'daddy', rather than his 'dad'?" he asked in a rush. Sarah smiled. "I've been wondering that for a while now," he admitted.

"Because 'daddy' to me is something that's much closer than 'dad'. When my mom died all I had was my dad and he did everything he could for me. I'm not saying that 'dad's wouldn't do the same for their children, but things changes when you loose the mom and wife." Hotch nodded in understanding. "It made me start watching my friends' family dynamics and saw that their relationships with their dad's didn't have the same closeness. I guess it's because he and I depended on each other a lot more than they did their dads. That's when, to me, he became more than just 'dad' to me."

Hotch watched her for a few moments and she could see that he understood perfectly. "You must miss him," he said.

"I do but I make sure to call him at least once a week. Last time we spoke he revealed he's got a girlfriend," Sarah smiled to herself. "He's so nosy though! He's still asking me why I came to move over here instead of back to Sweden."

"Why didn't you?"

"I wasn't happy where I was, even you saw me having a slight breakdown," she looked away embarrassedly. "It became more frequent after you guys left and when Emily suggested that I'd move over I was uncertain at first, I had already done that kind of move before and that turned out really well," she said sarcastically, "but she'd already looked into things for me and got me that job interview that got me the green card." She took a deep breath before continuing, "I think the biggest reason I didn't go back to Sweden was because I felt like I'd left that in the past when I moved in the first place and that I wouldn't feel right going back. I knew that it meant to again have to learn new social rules and find new friends but I felt it was worth it. And when my dad showed his support it was when I decided for sure and that's when I wrote you about it."

Hotch nodded. "How did you lose your mom?" he asked after a few moments in silence.

"Cancer. On the last day her heart couldn't cope anymore but at least she got to go the way she wanted. She got to go to sleep. I see now that it was the best way, but back then I reacted badly and for a while I refused to go to sleep because I was afraid I'd die too but this caused plenty of trouble in school which can't have been fun for my dad to deal with."

They kept talking for hours and at one point, even though he hadn't planned to, he told her about what happened to Hayley and how he was coping. He also told her the reason why Beth left and he could see the sympathy in her eyes but she did nothing more than put her hand on his arm and nodding.

It wasn't until both of them yawned at the same time that they realised that it was early morning and it wasn't long until Hotch's alarm clock was going to go off. Sarah was at the door when she spoke again. "Thank you, Aaron," she told him with such sincerity in her eyes that took him aback for a second.

"Thank you," he replied and then she left.


	4. Chapter 4

It was a week later when Hotch heard a knock on his door and found Sarah on the other side. They smiled when greeting each other and Sarah laughed when a blonde little tyke rushed at her and gave her a hug.

"Sarah! Are we going to the park today?" he asked.

"Are we? Well, if you want to that'll be where we go," she smiled. "But you need to get fully dressed before we go, ok?"

"OK!" he shouted and rushed into his room.

Hotch let Sarah in. "Thank you for coming, I'll only be a couple of hours."

"Take all the time you need. I think we'll have fun."

"Here's a key, in case you come back before I do."

"Thanks." At this point Jack, who was now ready, ran out of his room, grabbed Sarah's hand and started to pull her toward the door. "I guess we'll see you later," she chuckled.

"Have fun," Hotch smiled gently.

"Bye daddy!" Jack called before closing the door.

It was almost dinner time when Hotch heard the door being unlocked. He looked up to see Jack and Sarah come in.

"Hello you two," he greeted. "Did you have fun at the park?"

"Did we ever?" Jack beamed.

"Why don't you tell me all about it during dinner? If you go and play I'll call for you when it's ready, ok?"

"OK!" Jack almost shouted and bounced off to his room.

"You must've had fun. Are those new clothes?" he looked at Sarah curiously.

"He had a little accident falling into a pool of mud."

"He did? Looks like you did too," he chuckled.

"Yeah, well, he was getting cold but insisted that he wanted to stay. So we went to the closest store, since it was closer than going back here, got him some clothes and went back," she explained. "Would you mind pointing me in the direction of your washing machine?" she asked holding up with bag she was holding that contained Jack's muddy clothes.

"You don't have-" Hotch started but then seemed to change his mind. "It's in the bathroom." He joined her in the bathroom a few moments later. "Here, borrow these and put your jeans in there too."

She looked at him for a long moment before accepting the sweats and thanked him. He left to finish dinner for him and Jack. She came back out, clad in his sweats, and reached for her jacket. "Thank you for letting me taking him out today," she said.

"Thank you for taking him," Hotch said. "You going somewhere?" he asked looking up at her as she was putting her jacket on.

"Home."

"Stay, there's enough for the three of us."

Sarah stared at him for a moment before smiling gently and nodding. "Thank you," she said and took her jacket off again.

"Jack?" Hotch called, "Dinner's almost ready."

"C'mon buddy," Sarah said when Jack came out of his room. "Let's go wash our hands."

"You staying for dinner?" Jack asked happily.

Sarah nodded and brought him to the bathroom. Hotch went to get them when he noticed they took longer than needed. The door was open but he stopped in the doorway when he heard them talking.

"I don't see why I have to wash my hands every day before dinner. Sometimes they're not even dirty!" Jack said his arms deep in the sink that was filled with water while Sarah was scrubbing his arms seemingly having found some more mud spots.

"You wanna know what my daddy told me when I said the same thing you did?"

"What did he say?" Jack said curiously.

"'It's so you can get a better grip'," Sarah said, smiling when Jack laughed.

They finished up and turned around to see Hotch. "A better grip?" he asked with a curious look when she was about to pass him.

She shrugged, "we ate a lot of stake and spare ribs."

Dinner went on smoothly with a lot of laughs and smiles when Jack was telling his dad everything that had happened while they were at the park. They finished dinner and ended up playing one of Jack's board games until it was time for him to go to bed.

Hotch came into the kitchen to see Sarah standing by the sink doing the dishes. "You don't have to do that," he said standing next to her.

"I wanted to," she shrugged, "grab a towel, would you?"

"Yes, ma'am,"

Sarah chuckled. "You're doing such a great job with that boy, Aaron," she said her voice serious. "He absolutely adores you. He left it out but he wouldn't stop talking about you when we were out today. 'My daddy likes' this, 'my daddy likes' that, 'he does' this and that." Hotch had a small smile on his face but stayed silent and they finished the dishes not much later. Sarah went to hang the laundry and sat down in the couch when she finished, tired but happy.

"Drink?" Hotch asked holding out a glass to her. She looked at the glass for a moment before taking it. "Alcohol-free," he told her as he sat down himself.

"You remember," she said with a smile.

He nodded and took a sip of his own drink that looked to be the same as hers.

They spoke for a few hours before she left.

A few weeks later Rossi looked up when Hotch came into the meeting room one morning.

"Since when are you late?" he asked.

"Maybe he got some nookie last night," Morgan said teasingly.

Hotch took his seat. "I was at the hospital, if you must know."

The atmosphere changed immediately. "Are you ok?" asked Garcia.

"I'm fine."

"Jack?" JJ asked concerned written all over her face.

"He's fine."

"Then who?" Emily asked.

"Sarah," he answered. "Someone spiked her drink the other night."

"Is she ok?" Morgan asked.

"She'll be fine. She embarrassed more than anything else at the moment."

"She called you?" Rossi asked a small smile playing on his lips.

"No. The only reason I found out was because she'd offered to take Jack yesterday but didn't show up." Seeing the looks on his team memeber's faces he knew they weren't going to let it go until they found out more. "I tried to get a hold of her but when she didn't answer I checked her apartment but she didn't answer so I called again and this time someone answered. Turned out to be her doctor. She'll be fine, let's get to work."

Hotch went back to the hospital that evening with the file she'd asked him to pick up for her. He gave it to her doctor before going in to see her.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked sitting down next to her.

"Stupid, embarrassed and incredibly naseous."

He nodded appreciating her honesty. "Do you remember what happened?" he asked seeing the tired look on her face.

She nodded. "A couple of the girls and I went out to this club the other night. Not usually my thing but I thought it would be a good bonding experience or whatever. So, I went. We danced. A lot. So one of the girls ended up getting drinks. I told her non-alcoholic so when she handed me the drink I trusted that she'd listened. I took a sip and started to feel odd, I dismissed it as just being thirsty so I had another sip and that's when I knew that something wasn't right. I was having trouble breathing and my stomach started to cramp. Next thing I know I woke up in here and was told that you were in the waiting room. The girls came by and apologised. She'd just thought I didn't want alcohol because I didn't want to get drunk."

"She could've killed you," Hotch said.

"But she didn't."

"She almost did. The doctor told me it was touch and go for a while."

"Aaron, I'm fine," Sarah said putting her hand over his. "And I'd say to leave her alone because she's traumatised enough but my insurance company requires a police report."

He squeezed her hand. "Just don't do it again."

"I'll try not to. I'm usually so careful and you know that." Hotch nodded just as the doctor came in.

"I'm letting you go. Just wear this from now on," he handed her a Medical Alert bracelet stating her allergy.

"I will."

"Will you be all right to take her home Agent?" Hotch nodded, "Good. Keep an eye out for any more reactions. You're nausea will stay around for a while. I hope not to see you again," the doctor told Sarah with a smile and left.

Sarah fell asleep in Hotch's car but woke when he opened the door on her side. "What are we doing here?"

"You're staying with me and Jack for a while," he said firmly and with a look in her eye that told her there was no point in arguing. She nodded and let him help her out of the car and into the apartment. They ate and then went to bed, Hotch insisting on her taking his bed while he took the couch she argued but lost quickly.

It was early morning when Sarah came out from the bedroom a few days later and she saw Jack and Hotch already awake, sitting by the dinner table eating. Hotch got up and took out a plate for her and loaded some pancakes onto it.

"Smells really good," she said rubbing her stomach as she sat down. "What's this?" she asked when Jack pushed a wrapped package in front of her.

"Happy birthday!" he said with a big smile.

"How did you-" she looked at Hotch. "Medical file?" she asked and he nodded but didn't seem at all embarrassed about it.

"Open it!" Jack said excitedly.

"All right, all right, mister, hold your horses," she smiled and started to open the present. Inside she found a silver necklace. Her mouth opened as she took it out of its box. "It's beautiful," she said admiring the musical note hanging from the chain.

"I chose it," Jack said proudly.

"Come here, monster," Sarah said and he went around the table and she gave him a hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Can I go play now?" he asked.

"Of course you can, buddy," Hotch answered and Jack left. "Here, let me," he said and took the necklace from her.

"You didn't have to get me anything," she told him.

"I wanted to," he said simply as he put the necklace around her neck. She stood up when he finished and gave him a tight hug. The shock subsided quickly and he returned the embrace.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome. Now eat your breakfast before it gets cold." She nodded, sat down and ate while he took away Jack's plate.

They arrived at the BAU about an hour later. The rest of the team had presents for her as well. Hotch had apparently sent out a text that it was her birthday. She punched him, without force, in the arm but he could see that it was appreciated. She spent the day in the bullpen with Emily and Reid with paper work of her own. At lunch the team was called into a meeting and when they came out Hotch pulled her aside. "We've got a case in Detroit. Are you going to be ok?"

"I'll be fine."

"Jack's staying with Jessica," he said.

"Good. Now go catch some bad guys," she smiled.

"Are you sure you're ok?" he asked getting her to look at him.

"I'm fine, really. Stop worrying."

"Just a phonecall away," he said and she nodded saying that she knew. She gathered her things and left.


	5. Chapter 5

It was getting closer to Christmas, all of them were swamped with work and had little time for anything else.

"Sarah," Amanda, one of the girls in the office, said and she looked up. "Some guy's here for you."

Sarah frowned, she wasn't expecting anyone and she didn't like getting disturbed when she'd finally gotten into her work. "Aaron!" she looked at him surprised. "What are you doing here? You've never visited me at work before."

"I couldn't get through on your cell."

"Really bad reception in here."

"Is this the guy you moved over here for?" Amanda asked from her desk, her and some of the girls were obviously listening in.

"Don't ask. What's up?" Sarah asked Hotch ignoring her nosy collegues.

"We're called in again. Jessica's got the flu and her kids are in the initial stages of it so she can't take Jack, would you mind taking him in for a few days?"

"Of course not. I'd love to take him. Is there anything in particular I need to know?"

"Not really. Just don't spoil him too much," Hotch gave her a knowing look and she just smiled. "I'll call his school and let them know that you'll be picking him up." He handed her a piece of paper. "You'll need this."

She nodded. "Ok. Be safe."

"I will be, I'll see you when I get back."

"I know he's hot and all, but are you seriously taking his kid for an unspecified number of days? I hope you're getting compensated," Amanda didn't bother being subtle in any way.

"I am," Sarah told her. "Everyday." She smiled to herself but when she looked up she saw Hotch looking at her before the elevator door closed.

"Hey there, Monster," she greeted Jack as he exited the school.

"Sarah? What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, bud. Your dad needed to travel again and your aunt's got the flu so you're stuck with me until he comes back."

"Oh," he said almost looking disappointed looking over at a couple of other kids "I was going to ask him if I could bring some friends over..."

She crouched down and said almost as if they were sharing a secret, "if you promise to do your homework and play nicely, I'll let you invite them over to mine, would that be ok?"

Jack's expression brightened and he nodded. "I promise," he said and walked over to his friends and told them the situation.

"Are you Sarah?" A voice spoke not too far from her.

"Yes?"

"Aaron said you'd be coming. I'm Pat, one of Jack's teachers."

"Oh, hi! It's nice to meet you," Sarah smiled and shook Pat's hand. "Here, Aaron told me to show this to you before I left with Jack." It was the piece of paper Hotch had giver her and her ID. Pat inspected them before handing them back.

"It's nice to finally meet the woman Jack's been tlaking about for the past month," Pat said with a friendly smile.

"He's been talking about me?" Sarah asked surprised.

"Didn't Aaron tell you? With the way Jack's talking it sounds like the two of you are dating."

"What?" Sarah laughed again surprised. "No, Aaron and I are not dating. We're good friends but that's about it."

"Oh. That's a shame." Sarah was about to reply but Jack called out for her. One of the other kids' mom drove them to her apartment and did a quick inspection before leaving.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey," Sarah noticed them starting to get toys out. "What did we agree?"

"Homework first," they three chorused.

"Good. If you do it now you'll have more time to play after. Go on to the table."

Sarah was thoroughly enjoying herself. After the boys had finished their homework she let them play on the living room floor while she was cooking dinner. She made sure to keep an eye on each of them.

"Put those back or there will be no desert!" she scolded having caught them playing with her pads. At the mention of desert the boys quickly put them away and played nicely until dinner was ready.

"Fruit?" asked Tyler, a brown haired boy with lots of freckles. "That's not desert."

"It's awesome," Jack said shoving the contense of the bowl into his mouth. His friends looked at each other, shrugged and then got to eating themselves.

There was a knock on the door and Sarah found the mothers standing on the other side. She invited them in, "they just finished desert."

"Desert?" one of them looked absolutely horrified.

"Fruit salad."

"You got my son to eat fruit?" the other woman looked at her suspiciously.

"See for yourselves," she said leading them to the dining table.

"Miss Sarah? Could I have some more desert please?" Tyler asked holding out his bowl.

"You boys already ate it all! I had no idea boys could eat so much." Sarah said and the three at the table grinned widely.

"Come on, Tyler. We need to get home and do your homework."

"I've already done it," he said proudly.

"My, my haven't you been a good boy." She looked at Sarah with an impressed expression. "Thank you," she said as they were leaving.

"No problem. It was fun," Sarah told them and closed the door once they'd left.

Jack hugged Sarah when she sat down on the sofa. "Thank you," he said.

"That's all right, buddy. Want to watch a DVD before going to bed? Yeah, well open that cupboard there," Jack went and opened the one she pointed at and his face lit up like he'd gone into a toy shop on Christmas day. "Just one tonight and if you want we can watch another one tomorrow." Jack took his time but when he picked one he put it in the DVD player with Sarah's permission before sitting down on the sofa again.

"How was it?" asked Hotch when they returned nearly two weeks later.

"It was nice. Thank you Aaron."

"Why are you thanking me? You're the one that helped me out."

"Because you trusted me enough to know that I'd be able to take care of him."

Aaron smiled, "where are you on that scale now?" he asked referring back to a conversation they'd had months ago.

"An eight," she sighed and sipped her coffee. "You know, Pat said something interesting the first day I went to pick Jack up from school," she said changing the subject. "She said Jack's been talking about me, is that true?" Hotch nodded drinking from his coffee. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable or pressured."

"Don't be silly. I'm touched that he has. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Did Pat say what he's been saying?" he asked setting his cup down. She shook her head. "He's been speaking of you almost as a mother."

Sarah stared. "Are you sure? Do you want me to back off?" To her surprise Hotch chuckled.

"No, I think it's good that he has a woman in his life he feels he can talk to. I don't want to ruin that. I'll talk to him and we'll go from there." She nodded in agreement.


	6. Chapter 6

Sarah exited the elevator and walked into the bullpen. It was decorated for Christmas with a nice tree in one corner. Holiday music was playing in the background while people were chatting away. There were plenty of folk there, Emily had mentioned something about guests to the agents were welcome.

"Hey girl!" Garcia came up to her. "Nice outfit," she smiled.

"Thanks. Yours not too bad either," she looked at her friend's bling red dress and heels.

"Look who I found lost outside," Garcia announced fragging her over to the rest of the team. Sarah just gave her a look and laughed.

"Merry Christmas," JJ greeted and gave her a quick hug.

"Merry Christmas."

A couple of hours later they had gone their separate ways to talk to other co-workers and Morgan found a mistletoe that he walked around with getting people to kiss.

"Hey, guys. Enjoying yourselves?" asked Morgan flinging his arms around Sarah's and Hotch's shoulders.

"Just fine," Sarah replied and Hotch agreed.

"Just fine? Oh! Oh! What's this?" he asked pulling out the mistletoe above his friends' heads.

"Good question," Sarah said looking confused. "What is that?"

"It's mistletoe," Morgan said as if it was obvious.

"Oh, so that's what they look like."

"You've never seen mistletoe before?" Hotch asked looking at her.

"In movies, but that's about it. We don't have this tradition in Sweden."

"What about Scotland?" asked Morgan.

"Wouldn't know, I spent Christmas alone mostly."

"Wow, that's sad," he said bluntly.

"Thanks, Morgan. But I'd rather spend Christmas alone than being miserable around drunk collegues."

"Oh, well. On you go then," he grinned like a cheshire cat but when Sarah leaned over and gave Hotch a peck on the cheek he protested. "No, no," he said. "That doesn't count. It has to be proper!"

By this time some from the team heard what was going on and had walked over. "It has to be proper," they agreed.

Sarah felt like her cheeks were burning but inspite of this turned toward Hotch again and kissed him on the lips this time. He returned it but broke apart when the others started to cheer and applaud.

Later in the evening Sarah was standing by one of the corners and talking to the girls. "Nothing's going on, would you guys drop it?" Sarah said annoyance in her tone before taking a big gulp of her drink.

"We were just curious," Emily smiled looking over at Hotch walking over, his exression set.

"Sarah?" Hotch had reached them. He took Sarah's arm and turned her toward him but her knees buckled and fell into him. He easily caught her and lowered her to the floor, "what did you drink? Prentiss what did she drink?" Emily stared in shock, which was uncharacteristic of the strong independent woman. "Morgan, call an ambulance," he ordered watching Sarah struggling to take a breath.

"Her glass must've been switched or spiked," Rossi said smelling the glass Sarah had been holding. "Who gave her the drink?"

"I did," Emily said coming out of her shocked state. "I got it from..." Rossi pulled her away from the others and sat her down.

Hotch shook Sarah's shoulder when her head lolled to the side and her breathing seized. He felt her pulse before laying her flat on the floor and giving her mouth to mouth.

"What is going on?" Strauss asked having just arrived but any sort of response was cut short as the ambulance crew arrived taking over from Hotch and started pulling things out of their bags as he quickly briefed them. One of the men pulled out an epi-pen and punched the injection into her thigh. There didn't seem to be any affect to her unconscious condition. They lifted her onto the gurney and pushed her towards the elevators.

Sarah woke up and frowned at how groggy her head felt. Her stomach hurt and her hand felt odd. Had she broken it? Her nose felt funny, as if something was stuck in it and when she reached up to check she felt the familiar tube going by her nose, round her ears and to her throat. She looked at her hand and it took a moment for her to realise that the IV that had been stuck into the back of her hand was the cause of it feeling odd, not that it was broken.

She turned her head to her side and saw Hotch slouching in a chair next to her bed seemingly trying to rub tiredness out of his eyes. "Is Jack ok?"

Hotch looked at her with a mixed mess of expressions on his face. "Is Jack ok?" he repeated astonished. "You're the one who almost died! You said you were going to be careful because of what happened last time," he was leaning forward in his chair. "That spiked drink wasn't meant for you. The guy we have in custody admitted it."

"If you've got the guy who did it what are you yelling at me for? I did what I could!"

"Because you scared me, Sarah!" he leaned over her, "you collapsed writhing in pain and there was nothing I could do and then you stopped breathing."

"I'm sorry," she whispered closing her eyes for a moment and tears escaped. Hotch took a deep breath and leaned his forehead on hers.

"I thought I was going to lose you," he admitted in a whisper. "When you stopped breathing..."

Sarah lifted her arms and placed them around him to pull him into a hug. Hotch wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him sitting down on the hospital bed. He could feel the ragged breaths from her crying. There was a knock on the door and Hotch seeing the reflections of Rossi and Emily in the window waved them in. "Would you be up for some questions?"

Sarah took a deep breath and nodded.

"What do you remember?" Reid asked.

"I remember wanting a drink and saw Emily pouring some. She asked me if I wanted one and I told her yes. She got a bottle from the fridge and she must've read it carefully because I remember getting impatient. She showed me the bottle and the lable said zero percent alcohol and the bottle didn't seem like it had been tampered with. So when she poured me a glass and gave it to me I smelt it and asked her to taste it for me just incase. She told me she couldn't taste any alcohol and then we went over and talked to JJ and Garcia for a bit before I drank. Why would I react to something that had absolutely no alcohol in it?"

"But it did," Rossi told her. "Tests showed there was some in the glass. It wasn't meant for you, though."

At her questioning look Hotch spoke up: "me. It was meant for me."

"What? Why?"

"The latest case. The guy security grabbed was the unsub's brother. He's admitted to switching the bottles." Rossi informed.

Sarah tried to wipe her tears but the tube that was stuck in her nose made it troublesome. Emily stepped forward with a tissue and helped her out. "I am so sorry, Sarah."

"It's not your fault," Sarah said. Rossi and Emily left a few minutes later.

"How are you feeling?" Hotch asked taking her hand.

"Scared," she admitted. "I'm so sorry, Aaron," she said as another tear escaped her eye. Hotch wiped it away and pulled her close. "How long was I out?" she asked after a while of just leaning into his embrace.

"Two days," Hotch informed and tightened his arms for a moment.

"I'm so sorry," she apologised again.

"Stop apologising," he told her his fingers tangled in her hair. "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier." he could feel her nodding, her nose gently bumping his jaw. "You get some rest. I'll see you in the morning, ok?"

She lay down and he helped tucking her in. He brushed some wild hair out of her face, gave her a small smile and left her to fall asleep.

Sarah was dressed the next morning. The oxygen tube had been taken off and the IV had been taken out. She was staring out the window humming to herself until she heard the door open. She turned to see a little monster rushing toward her and giving her a tight hug when he reached her which she gladly returned.

"Are you sad?" Jack asked when he looked at her seeing the tears in her eyes.

"No, Jack, I'm just very glad to see you." Jack hugged her again.

"She loves that kid of yours," Rossi commented to Hotch, they were standing outside watching the two hug each other. "What are you going to do?" Hotch didn't have to answer as the rest of the team arrived including Henry. They walked in and the two in the room looked up, Sarah's smiling face turned into one of surprise.

"We thought since you missed Christmas we'd bring Christmas to you," JJ said coming up to her and giving her a hug. "I'm glad you're better," JJ squeezed her hand.

"I don't have your presents here..." Sarah started but was interrupted by Garcia.

"We figured they were the ones with our names on them underneath the tree," she said holding out two large bags with presents in them. "There are some in here with your name too, did you get yourself presents?"

Sarah chuckled. "They're from my dad and co-workers," she explained.

They gave out their presents and watched each other open them to see their reactions. Sarah started with the one from Amanda at her office. When she'd pulled the wrapper off the found ten shot glasses in a box.

"Um..." a few of them muttered looking at glasses but Sarah suddenly laughed out loud.

"Look," she said and started to put them in order. That's when they noticed the letters that were on them. When Sarah finished they spelled: DON'T DRINK.

They all seemed to like their presents and when Sarah went to open a tiny square box the girls leaned forward. She opened it and gasped when she saw what it was, she pulled out a ring. She put it back smiling but not saying anything. The girls were now on the very edge of their seats. "Who's it from?" Garcia asked finally.

"My daddy's getting married so he sent me my mother's ring," she smiled gently and looked up at Hotch who had noticed her choice of words. The girls looked disappointed. He went on to open his present and pulled out a white t-shirt with a picture of a man with an FBI jacket on lounging in a hammock with a caption that said: "Even FBI agents need to chill-axe".

Hotch looked for the label to say who it was from but there was only his name on it. "Who?" he asked and almost all of them raised their hands. He stared at them and then said, "chill-axe?" Those responsible for the gift burst out laughing.

Hotch came back into the hospital room some time later after seeing everyone off. He walked in to see Sarah and Jack reading a book together and all he could do was smile seeing how happy they were.

"He's out," Sarah whispered five minutes later.

Hotch nodded. "I'm glad you had fun today," he said in a low voice putting the last few things into the shoulder bag he'd brought.

"Me too. I'm glad everyone could be here."

"What are you doing during New Year?" he asked without looking at her.

"Was planning on seeing some fireworks but that's about it."

"Would you like to spend it with Jack and I?"

Sarah glanced down at Jack sleeping in her arms. "I would love to."


	7. Chapter 7

The days between then and New Year's eve passed quickly. Just before Sarah knocked on Hotch's door she heard a familiar song from inside. She smiled and knocked and when Hotch opened the door he looked at her his eyes smiling.

"I don't know if I should be mad at you or not. Those chipmunks are driving me nuts."

Sarah chuckled. "I guess you don't want to see the second present that Garcia missed then?" she asked holding up something that looked suspiciously like a DVD.

"Sequel?" he asked.

"Actually it's the "Squeakquel", but I don't suppose that matters."

He shook his head and let her in. "At least it's some other songs," he muttered. "Dinner's almost ready."

"Can I help with anything?"

"Yes, you can sit down and "chill-axe"." He said embracing her with one arm and kissing her on the side of her head. Sarah chuckled and went to sit down next to Jack who took out the cd player she'd gotten for him for his birthday and asked her to sing just like she had done on his birthday.

Hotch listened to them as he finished up and called them to dinner. The meal finished and Sarah helped washing up letting Jack watch his new DVD. "I've been thinking," Hotch spoke while drying a plate. "About Christmas."

"Mhm?"

"What were you thinking when Morgan held that mistletoe over our heads?" He put the dry plate away.

"I honestly wondered what it was at first," Sarah smiled. "But then I got annoyed and embarrassed that he would do something like that. Especially when he knew." Her hands became still leaning on the sink.

"What did he know?" Hotch asked stepping closer to her.

She sighed, "how I feel about you."

"And what is that?" he asked gently turning her around to face him. She stared at his chest silently until he pulled up her chin so he could look at her. "How do you feel about me, Sarah?"

"I love you," she whispered. Hotch, holding her gaze, leant down and kissed her lips slowly. She reciprocated and as he moved his arms around her waist she moved hers around his neck. "I wanted to tell you, when we were in the hospital," she told him when they stopped to breathe.

"What stopped you?"

"I wasn't sure you...or if I..." she paused trying to think of the right words. His hand travelled to her neck and she leaned into the touch. She looked up at him, some uncerntainty still visible in her eyes.

"I love you, Sarah. Know that for sure," he told her and kissed her deeply. He grabbed hold of her body and lifted her up onto the counter.

"How long have you known?"

"About you? A while. Suspercted longer. It wasn't until later I could tell for sure you knew yourself."

"And about you?"

"Since Jack and I went to get your birthday present. When did you know?"

"My birthday, in the morning when it was just the three of us. Does the team know?"

"If they don't I'll fire them," Hotch said kissing her.

"Damn profilers," she chuckled and she felt him smile against her lips.

They missed the fireworks that night.

Months passed. It was early in the morning when movement woke Sarah. She opened her eyes to see Hotch watching her with a smile playing on his lips.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he said and kissed her gently.

"With that kiss, I forgive you," she smiled. They had been on vacation together for the past five days and they enjoyed their late mornings, which only became late because they wouldn't leave the bed until nature called.

"I've got something for you," he announced and reached towards the bedside table. "Remember how angry you got at the doctors when Jack broke his leg?" she nodded wondering where he was going with it. "Well, if you want. You could wear this and not have to argue with them about seeing Jack if it ever happens again."

"Aaron..." her gaze went from the ring he was holding up to his eyes. She sat up and he followed her with worry in his features. "I- I need to tell you something first. Now, I only found out last night for sure which is why I had trouble getting to sleep." By now she had learnt that the subtle change in his eyes meant he had and idea about what was going on but wanted to wait for confirmation before saying anything. She reached into her own bedside table drawer, pulled out a white stick and gave it to him. "I'm pregnant."

"You're sure?" he asked looking up at her.

"That's the fourth test I took. They were all the same." Any unease she might've felt dissipated when he, while kissing her, pushed her down onto the bed. "You're really ok with this?" she asked when the kisses ceased.

He held up the ring again with a smile, "it makes me want to slip this on your finger even more."


	8. Chapter 8

There had been an unusual amount of get together's the past year, but none in the team complained. They were glad that they had time to do so.

"Could you do me a favour?" asked Sarah during the latest team night.

"Of course, what's up?"

"Well, I need help in revealing a surprise."

JJ, Garcia, Emily and Sarah were standing by the fireplace at Rossi's when Emily started to sing along to the song that was playing in the background. The guys who were outside chatting looked up and into the house when a strong singing voice suddenly broke through their conversations. They went inside and sat down when they saw the girls dancing to the music. "A singer in a smokey room," Emily sang.

"A smell of wine and cheap perfume. For a smile they can share the night, it goes on and on and on and on." Sarah was smiling with confidence seeing Hotch smile gently encouraging her silently.

"Strangers waiting up and down the boulevard. Their shadows searching in the night. Streetlights, people, living just to find emotion. Hiding, somewhere in," Emily stopped singing, "the night!" Sarah belted out on key.

Garcia and Morgan almost fell back in their seats. "Whoa..."

"Working hard to get my fill, everybody wants a thrill. Paying anything to roll the dice, just one more time." Sarah had taken off her necklace and taken the pendant off it. "Some will win," she slipped her ring on her finger and saw Emily's eyes widen and mouth open. "Some will lose. Some were bord to sing the blues. Oh, the movie never ends. It goes on and on and on and on. Strangers waiting up and down the boulevard. Their shadows searching in the night. Streetlights, people, living just to find emotion. Hiding, somewhere in the night. Don't stop believing. Hold on to that feeling. Streetlights, people. Don't stop believing. Hold on to that feeling. Streetlights, people. Don't stop."

"They're engaged!" Emily exclaimed.

"About time, when did it happen?" Rossi asked looking at Hotch but Hotch didn't answer, instead he got up to stand next to Sarah. He casually put his hand on her stomach as he embraced her from behind.

"I knew it!" JJ got up. "I thought I was noticing some changes. Congratulations!" she hugged them both.

"What's going on?" Reid asked seemingly confused.

"They're expecting a baby," Rossi explained patiently and Reid visibly shuddered.

"Reid got grossed out when I was expecting Henry," JJ explained seeing Reid's reaction. "I guess this time is no different."

"Do you know the sex yet?" Garcia asked excitedly, "Wow, you're a lot bigger than you seem!"

Sarah laughed. "Well, I'm four months pregnant, I'd hope so!"

"Four months? Why didn't you guys tell us sooner?" Morgan asked looking almost hurt.

"We needed to prepare, make sure everything was fine and tell Jack."

"What did he say?" asked Emily.

"'Ok, as long as she doesn't steal my toys,'" Sarah said imitating Jack.

The wedding was a small affair. Sarah's father flew over and walked her down the aisle. Jack made sure that he protected the rings. He did a such a good job he almost forgot to hand them over to the priest when it was time. All the papers were signed, along with the adoption papers for Jack so that Sarah was officially his mother. They toasted and enjoyed a nice meal.

Sarah recognised the look Hotch took on when he looked at his vibrating phone. "Go," she said and kissed him. "Be safe."

Hotch kissed her again, telling her he loved her, before rounding up the team and left.

Sarah smiled to herself and rubbed her belly gently. "You're daddy's always gonna hit the ground running. But he'll always love you, sweetheart."

A month later Rebecca Hayley Hotchner was born.


End file.
